Bellyband connection



May s, 1923. L. C. WOOD BELLYBAND CONNECTION Filed April 14. 1922 &

,LEON'ARD 0. W001), or ALDEN, IOWA.

BELLYBAND oonnnorron.

Application filed April 14, 1922. Serial No. 5 52,680.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEONARD C. WOOD, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of Alden, Hardin County, Iowa, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Bellyband Connections, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in belly-band connections forharness, and the object of my improvement is to provide a plate mountedon the middle. of the bellyband having end-eyes to receive terminalfastening means on the side-straps, whereby in double harness, certainof the connections only need be separated rendering harnessing orunharnessing easier.

This object I have accomplished by the means which are hereinafterdescribed and claimed, and which are illustrated in the ac' companyingdrawings, in which Fig. l is a View 01 a team of horses. equipped withharness which includes the device of my invention. Fig. 2 is an enlargedunder plan view of a belly-band equipped with my improved plate andside-strap connections, and Fig. 3 is amedia-l cross-section takenthrough said belly-band and plate.

The belly-band 1 is of a well-known type having end-buckles 2 forconnection to other parts 12 of the harness. The numeral 7 denotes therear part of a breast-strap such as is used in double harness, and hasthe terminal loop 6 through which the belly-band is passed to locatesaid loop medially thereon. I have secured upon the middle of thebellyband 1 a rigid metal plate 3. This plate 3 may be of any desiredform but I prefer to construct it as shown, doubling it longitudinallyto receive the belly-band between its parallel spaced parts, andsecuring it to the belly-band by means of bolts 4 or other suitablefastening-means.

Projecting rearwardly from the end parts of the plate 8 are the integraleyes 5 respectively adapted to receive a snap-hook 8 on the forward endof the neareside-strap't), and a loop 10 having a buckle 11 on the offsidestrap 13.

Ihe provision of these eyes 5 onithe medial plate 3 is very convenientinharnessing or unharnessing a team equipped with double harness, beingaccessible and readily connected and disconnected. In practice, thesnap-hook 8 on the near side-strap 9 only is disconnected from theabutting eye 5, the

loop 10 on the oil-side strap 13 remaining connected, as shown in saidFig. 1. It is inconvenient to reach under the animal to connect ordisconnect the looplO, and by my improvement this is unnecessary, asseparation of the near side-strap is all that IS required inunharnessing, which .saves time and much inconvenience, especially whena large number of teams have ,to be i looked after. Having described myinvention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is:

In horse-harness, the combination with a belly-band, a breast-straphaving a'looped end and side straps, of a U-shaped rigid memberenclosing and fastened to the middle 01 the belly-band, said me'mberhaving rearwardly projecting spaced eyes with which the off andnearside-straps may be respectively engaged, and the loop of saidbreast-strap being positioned on said member between its end-eyes. 1

Signed at Waterloo, Iowa, this 15th day of March, 1922. i i

LEONARD C. WOOD.

